Andik stunner downs ten-man Singapore

By Gabriel Tan

Despite Singapore dominating much of the game, they were dealt a real blow in the 66th minute when Irwan Shah received his marching orders for a second bookable offence.

Still, Radojko Avramovic's looked good value for a draw as they more than matched their opponents until the 87th minute, when Andik sent a 30-yard freekick straight into the back of the net to hand his side all three points.

The result will undoubtedly be tough for the Lions to take given they had created their fair share of chances, with Aleksandar Duric even hitting the woodwork in the 80th minute, and also found themselves on the receiving end of a number of questionable refereeing decisions.

But while it was Singapore who enjoyed the better chances in Wednesday's clash, they nearly gifted their opponents a goal just six minutes in when a mistake from the usually-reliable Daniel Bennett handed Oktovianus Maniani possession inside the area, but thankfully for them, no opposition player was on hand to meet the cross.

Six minutes later, Shahril Ishak, who scored twice against Malaysia last Sunday, nearly broke free after a neat flick-on header by Baihakki Khaizan, only for Raphael Maitimo to deny him by getting a vital toe to the ball before he could race through.

Singapore carved out another chance in the 15th minute when Shi Jiayi swung a corner to the near post, where it was met by Safuwan Baharudin with a half-volley that crept just wide of the far post with Wahyu Tri Nugroho rooted to the spot.

Five minutes before the half-hour mark, Shi intelligently created another opportunity for his side when he played a freekick to the edge of the box to the waiting Shahdan Sulaiman, who fired in a fierce effort that forced Wahyu Tri into a good save.

By now, Singapore were firmly in control of proceedings and although Merah Putih were struggling to create anything up front, they did look dangerous from distance and gave a warning shot in the 43rd minute when Novan Setyo Sasongko was allowed too much space and let fly from 25 yards with a piledriver that Izwan Mahbud had to push wide.

While they had spent much of the opening half as the dominant side, the Lions were dealt a real blow shortly after the hour mark when left-back Irwan Shah picked up two bookings in a matter of minutes after fouls on Andik, leaving his side a man down for the remainder of the game.

Buoyed by the numerical advantage, Indonesia began to push forward with more intent and had a good chance in the 70th minute when a hopeful ball over the top bounced in behind the Singapore backline and into the path of Bambang Pamungkas, but Izwan raced out well to block the legendary striker's first-time effort.

A minute later, Pamungkas was presented with another chance after a rare mistake by Baihakki saw him glance a header back into the danger zone, but the ball bounced just too high for the Merah Putih man, allowing Izwan to pluck it out of the air.

The game then took a controversial turn in the 74th minute when the Lions broke down the left with Khairul Amri, who forced his way into the area and was felled by a clumsy challenge from Wahyu Wijiastanto, only to see the referee hand him a yellow for diving.

Seven minutes later, Singapore were unlucky not to go ahead when Shi found space down the right and floated a perfect cross straight to Duric, who could only watch on in despair as his firm header came bouncing back off the bar.

Despite playing with ten man, the Lions were ending the game the stronger of the two teams and Qiu Li came close in the 86th minute with a well-struck freekick that Wahyu Tri did well to keep out at his near post.

But a minute later, Indonesia finally found the breakthrough when Andik audaciously lined up a freekick 30 yards out and went straight for goal, sending a dipping effort over the stranded Izwan and into the back of net.

Five minutes into injury time, Merah Putih could even had added a second when they hit Singapore on the break with Andik running almost the length of the field before skipping past Bennett, only for Izwan to push the ball away just as he was about to pull the trigger.

Nonetheless, Indonesia ultimately held on for all three points to go top of Group B and leave their opponents with plenty still to do in their bid for a place in the semi-finals.

Indonesia: Wahyu Tri Nugroho, Raphael Maitimo, Fachruddin Aryanto, Wahyu Wijiastanto, Novan Setyo Sasongko, Elie Aiboy (Andik Vermansah 47'), Muhammad Taufiq, Vendry Mofu, Oktovianus Maniani (Rasyid Bakri 77'), Irfan Bachdim, Rachmat Syamsuddin Leo (Bambang Pamungkas 56').

Singapore: Izwan Mahbud, Daniel Bennett, Baihakki Khaizan, Safuwan Baharudin, Irwan Shah, Shi Jiayi, Mustafic Fahrudin, Hariss Harun (Aleksandar Duric 40'), Shahdan Sulaiman, Khairul Amri (Qiu Li 76'), Shahril Ishak.

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